There Are Veggies In My Fridge
by StoryDiva
Summary: Lorelai and Luke attempt to start working toward their future, including figuring out who controls the refrigerator, and working with Lorelai's parents to get Rory back on track.


**Title:** There Are Veggies In My Fridge

**Author:** Tommygirl828 (at) gmail (dot)

**Warnings:** Light spoilers through most recent episode and off of the WB trailer for tonight's show. Also, ladybug218 said to warn people not to be drinking while reading this. That's her advice, not mine, for I find it amusing when people snort milk through their noses.

**Crossposted:** This story is also posted in my livejournal (storydivagirl), my website, and at the Gilmore Girls Fanfiction Archive.

**A/N:** Happy Very Belated Birthday, butterflygoalie! Ha, I beat your Christmas guestimation! Also, much love to ladybug218 for the beta and title suggestion. Feedback always appreciated, my friends.

* * *

Lorelai Gilmore was in a good mood when she entered her house. Most of the construction was done, she had managed to locate her collection of _Silver Spoons_ episodes to annoy Luke with, and the renaming of the streets had finally blown up in Taylor's face. Definitely a day worthy of celebration.

She could hear Luke fumbling about upstairs as she slid out of her jacket, tossed it on the sofa, and hurried to the kitchen. She noticed Paul Anka had that neglected puppy look so she rubbed his head and said, "You and I are going to enjoy an evening of junk food."

She opened the refrigerator, as though to prove the point to her puppy, and that's when she noticed it. Surely, she was seeing things. Not in her refrigerator, not in _her_ house. She closed the door and opened it again.

But it was still there.

"OH MY GOD!" Lorelai screamed.

Luke came running down the stairs and jumped over her pile of shoes cluttering the bottom steps. Normally, that would've been a sight to see, but her mind was too focused on the evil that was in her refrigerator to enjoy it.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? _Am I okay?_" Lorelai clutched her chest and pointed to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, "There's...there's..."

Luke peered over her shoulder. He rolled his eyes and said, "You're kidding me, right?"

"How? What is this thing?"

"It's lettuce, Lorelai."

"It's not just lettuce...maybe it started as lettuce, but it's since multiplied, and now we have..." she paused to examine each item carefully before she continued, "...those are carrots and I think I see an eggplant." Lorelai glanced up Luke with horror in her eyes. "There's an eggplant in my refrigerator, Luke."

"Soon to be _our_ refrigerator and I happen to like—"

Lorelai held up her hand. "Don't say it. Don't."

"I like vegetables. They're good for you. Nutrients, vitamins."

"Dirty words!"

"And I like carrots."

"We're going to have to deal with this now, Mister. How am I supposed to feel about having carrots in my..._our_...refrigerator?"

"They're carrots. Not killer bees."

"At least killer bees would be entertaining; we could train them and set them loose on people."

"Lorelai..."

Lorelai shook her head and said, "I can't believe you put carrots in this refrigerator. It could've broken the poor machine."

"They're good for you."

"They turn your skin orange. How can anything that turns you its color be good for you?" She shut the door to the refrigerator and opened the freezer section. She pulled out her pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and said, "Ice cream doesn't cause these sorts of problems, Luke."

"It's amazing to me that you're not on a Richard Simmons' special."

"Don't hate the metabolism, embrace it."

Luke shook his head and said, "Why would you be eating ice cream now? We haven't had dinner yet."

"I was in a very good mood until I found vegetables in the refrigerator. What's next? Tofu burgers that you try to pass off as red meat? I will not be fooled by your trickery."

"Tofu is disgusting."

"Finally, something we can agree on."

Luke chuckled. He sat down at the table across from her and stared at the ice cream. She looked down at Paul Anka and said, "The moment has been ruined, Paul Anka. I'm afraid I no longer want ice cream."

"That's good because we have plans tonight."

"We do?"

"You're the one who set it up."

"Set what up?"

"Dinner with your parents."

Lorelai gasped and replied, "I certainly wouldn't do anything of the sort."

"But you did. Your father brought over your dollhouse, he mentioned that you might've been right about things with Rory, and now we're supposed to plot with your crazy parents on how to make Rory realize such things," Luke replied in one breath. He leaned back and said, "You only convinced me to go because it was for Rory."

"You mean you're not jumping at the chance to refer to Emily and Richard as 'mom' and 'dad'? Luke, I'm shocked."

Luke took Lorelai's hand and said, "We need to do this, to help Rory, so that the two of you can have your relationship working again, and we can get started with our future."

Lorelai smiled. It amazed her that Luke's words didn't scare her senseless. It used to be that the word _future_ sent her running for the hills, but she liked the idea of it with Luke. Either she was growing up or had finally found someone worth the long haul. She squeezed his hand, since the right thing to say always evaded her in times like this, and grinned at him.

* * *

As she closed the door to her parents' house, Lorelai let out the frustration she had been holding in all night. Luke's hands instantly went to her shoulders as though he could sense her tension (how could anyone not?) regarding the fiasco of an evening.

The only good portion of the evening was that Rory was away with Logan for the weekend and her mother kept going on about the commitment of a purse. Lorelai wasn't ready to deal with all the things that she and Rory had to work out quite yet. There was hurt on both sides, but her father was right. She was Rory's mother and she couldn't allow herself to get caught up in the "who hurt who more and first" game.

God, she hated when her parents were right about anything. Though, she knew the feeling was mutual when she endured her parents' version of an apology for going behind her back regarding Rory.

"I think now would be the appropriate time for large quantities of ice cream," Luke replied, steering her to his truck in the driveway.

He held open the passenger-side door for her and she replied, "Alas, I do not own large quantities."

Luke grinned and said, "Sometimes having a diner comes in handy."

"You totally own my soul, Luke Danes."

"Don't I know it," he replied.

She glanced at the drawn shades of the Rory's place and tried to ignore her headache. The evening basically became a bitching fest of who had done what wrong and nothing was accomplished. None of them were any closer to making Rory realize that she belonged back at Yale, doing something with her life, no matter what some jackass told her.

"It's not a lost cause, you know."

Lorelai looked over at Luke and replied, "I don't know how we get past all that's happened over the last few months."

"We can start by going to her twenty-first birthday party next week."

"I don't know, Luke. It's hardly the time to be airing all our problems."

"We go, give her some gifts, and drink some punch. The rest will be up to her. But it's a start, Lorelai."

"You're right. I know you're right, but—"

"You'll regret it if you don't go and I don't want to be around you when you're moping around the house, playing loud crappy music."

"I don't listen to crappy music."

"After Sookie's shower, you played 'Long Way Home' by Supertramp over and over again."

"Supertramp is a classic seventies rock band."

"They had freakish hair and their music was terrible."

"You get no say in any music conversation because the last album you bought was John Denver's greatest hits."

"The point is…you and Rory have to start somewhere, and I'm guessing that you showing up to her birthday party will go along way toward reconciliation."

Lorelai nodded. There wasn't much left to say on the topic. She knew what she had to do and she knew it would be hard. No getting around it. She leaned over and kissed Luke on the cheek.

He shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. "I should offer you ice cream more often."

She kissed him again. It was moments like this that it hit her how lucky she was to have him, and she couldn't imagine that there was a time when she didn't have these feelings for him, that Luke and Lorelai used to be something gossip mongerers liked to wager on, rather than real.

For him, there could even be vegetables in her fridge.

_Fin_


End file.
